If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Acute Pain Management

I really need to hear your experiences regarding the plans/ execution of your post op pain procedures. Did you have a separate meeting with the PM team who treated you immediately post op well before the date of the surgery? Or, did you simply talk to them the morning of the procedure? How detailed were they in the description of the steps they were willing to take in order to make you reasonably comfortable? I can't judge what is being offered to me without some experiences to compare it to. Please help me out. Thank You, RJM

If you're talking pain management while in the hospital, this seems to be done differently in each hospital. If you are able to request a "pre-anesthesia consult" then definitely request this, and that would be the time to talk about your pain medication control while in hospital. However, at UC Davis, where I had my last surgery, this was not offered, which was extremely unfortunate. Hence, I had problems which I was only able to get resolved by screaming in ICU. This brought people running and I did get out of pain. Some hospitals these days do recognize that some people need a consult in advance with the anesthesiologist (who is generally in charge of your pain meds for the first 24-48 hours). After that, the surgeon is in charge of your pain medication. However, this varies greatly from hospital to hospital, and this is only what I know; there could be hospitals on other systems. Definitely talk to your surgeon in advance about your pain control as he's ultimately in charge from what I understand.

If you're talking about pain management when you get home, the surgeon will generally supply you with three months of opiates or you could get a referral to a pain management doctor before surgery, and then that person would do the prescribing for you.

1st surgery: Fused T1-L3 in 1987 with contoured Harrington Rods. Rods broke at top.
2nd surgery: Re-done two weeks later; fused C7-L3. Left in chronic pain.
3rd surgery: Hardware removal 1997, but still pain for 30 years.
4th Surgery: Fused to the sacrum in 2016. Came out of surgery with left foot paralysis. (Drop Foot) Can't walk on my own.
I'm blessed to have found my peace and reason to live not from a husband or kids (I have none) but from God and within myself.